With all three of them speechless, I slowly pocketed my phone.
"I expect a full-blown apology online tonight, and let's not forget, I want double the damages. Every last cent."
Zara balked at the idea. "How could we possibly afford that?"

They clearly needed a reality check, so I laid out my Plan B.
"No compensation? Fine by me. However, you're giving me that apology, no matter what."
Before Zara could even think of bargaining, I was already on the phone with my lawyer.
"Mr. Smith, you confirmed that the cash Josh has been funneling to his mistress and kid counts as shared marital assets, right?"
I had him on speaker, and his reply was loud and clear. "That's correct, Ms. Foster. You're entitled to reclaim those funds, and if they refuse, we can hit them with a court order."
After thanking him, I turned to Jasmine, who had gone pale, and pressed on.

"Those who end up on the enforcement list are basically blacklisted, aren't they? And their kids..."
The mention of his son finally got Josh to drop the act.
He grabbed my phone and killed the call.
Then, he glared at me with venom in his eyes. "Direct your anger at me, not them. My mother's too old for shocks, and Jasmine and the kid, they're innocent."

'Innocent, my foot,' I thought.
However, innocence was not his to declare.
I fixed him with an icy stare.
"Alright, if the elderly must be spared, then you're the one who'll be apologizing to the world. And don't forget to double the payout for the money you accused me of taking."
His fists tightened, and he glared at me with fury. "You married into this family. Looking after me is your job!
"For years, you couldn't give us a son, and I stayed with you. Now you're turning this on me?" Josh spat out the words with scorn and strutted away with Jasmine and Zara in tow.
I watched them go, a numb spectator, then picked up the phone that had been abruptly cut off.
"I'm filing for divorce, and I'm suing for inciting an online mob."
The idiot. He could have avoided all that if he had just apologized. Instead, he paraded his affair in front of everyone, and sure enough, it went viral.
What a shame.
Shaking my head, I walked past the sympathetic stares back to my office. The company let me go, but not without a hefty severance package.
Josh's dirty little secret, treating his mistress like a god sister, did not stay hidden for long. It blew up online.
His company tried to save face, suspending him with the hope of bringing him back after the dust settled.
I was not having it. I started a social media campaign, inviting the world to watch me fight back.
Josh could not resist taunting me, saying, "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger."
I tuned him out and focused on the lawsuit.
Two months later, in court, Josh and Zara tried to drag my name through the mud. However, I was ready for them. Zara ended up owing me 15,000 dollars. The whole country was watching.
She was so terrified that she passed out right there in the courtroom. When she came to, she was clutching a letter of apology, begging for my signature and offering more money.
Josh got hit harder. The judge granted the divorce on the spot and ordered him to fork over 70 percent of the wealth he had tried to hide.
I shared the verdict online, and the crowd went wild. They swarmed Josh's company, calling for his head.
In the end, he was jobless, living off Zara and Paul's charity.
He blamed Jasmine for his lack of a job, and his days were filled with either hitting her or hurling insults her way.
On my first day at a new company, I caught sight of her, pregnant and all, being roughly pulled along the street by Josh.
My heart could not find joy, only a deep, sinking sadness.
Reaching out to the cops was the only thing left I could do for her.